Hiraeth
by KaenNoMai
Summary: Hiraeth (Welsh): A homesickness for a home you can't return to, or that never was Daniel before, during, and after Now You See Me 2; where everything is basically the same except he's pining for his fellow Horsemen and J Daniel Atlas has a heart.
1. Part One

When J. Daniel Atlas was young and thought about his future love life, all he wanted was about four people who all wanted to be with each other. He had planned it all out. Since people weren't tolerant of polygamous people, he decided that they would split into two sets of couples in public. The two groups of two would date, and eventually marry, but they would all buy a house together under the ruse that they wanted to save money, when in fact, their little group of four would be together forever. Little Daniel was pleased with his future, but he couldn't help thinking what so many people had said: That this was disgusting, illegal, and completely against their religion. Danny didn't see how it was so wrong; it wasn't a harem or anything, just four people who loved each other very much and didn't mind sharing within a tight group of people. (Even with these rationalizations, he couldn't help but hate himself for what he wanted.)

As he grew up, life events made him grow up to be cynical and pessimistic. His parents eventually couldn't pay for his school, and had to place him in public school, where he was bullied incessantly. He could've dealt with this, but his dad eventually lost his job and turned to alcohol, and his mom left. With his home life wasting away, Danny tended to take long walks just to get away from everything. Little Daniel of ten years was walking one day, and found a street magician. The name on the piece of decorated wood said 'Lionel Shrike.' Daniel watched as Shrike did magic, and looked at the crowds adoring faces. Shrike fit in, and Danny wanted that. So Daniel began learning magic.

At school, he had to fend for himself, taking punches, and eventually learning that the best way to escape was to create a diversion. If the bullies were looking the other way, and if he was fast enough, he would get away, looking at their shocked faces when they turned around to see Danny gone. (With this, Danny learned the importance of a diversion and the sleight of hand. He would incorporate it into his magic.)

Throughout all this, Danny grew. He grew to create a hard exterior so he didn't have a soft vulnerability that others could sense and pierce. He continued to use this cold narcissistic mask his whole life. When he made it big as a magician, he left everything behind to chase after his dream. However, he quickly learned that being new to the business meant being an easy target for higher ups, and he felt he had to once again don the mask of cold indifference in order to survive.

Throughout his years as a magician, he created several traits that defined him: his asshole-ish personality, his one night stands, and his control freak attitude. He didn't play well with others because he had to control the whole scene. He didn't take criticism well. He talked bluntly, and didn't care about others feelings. He ran a tight ship, and didn't' let anything disrupt it. He didn't play well with others.

So when he got a tarot card with a place and time, he thought he was finally going to be noticed and commended for a job well done. Which was why he got especially asshole-y and bitchy when he saw Henley and two other guys waiting. (He didn't think they were cute. Not. At. All.)

Looking at the blue prints, Danny couldn't help but feel impressed, however, and felt a strange sense of companionship with whoever created these. He could tell, just by looking at those plans, that whoever this was, they too, ran a tight ship. Every little detail was planned out for, and not one detail was frivolous. Just looking over them, he could understand where seemingly unimportant details became very important. Not a thing was overdone, or single figurative hair out of place. He was impressed.

That year was one of the best of his life. He had people beside him that he could call friends, he was famous (for a good cause), and was pulling off heists that no one in the audience could keep up with. The Horsemen even had the FBI, the best and the brightest, running around in circles as they managed to get the best of them every time.

(He was secretly happy that Jack was "dead," as it kept him out of danger.)

Now, when Danny thought about his dream love life, he couldn't help thinking that about him, Jack, and Merritt (not Henley, with her beautiful laugh and fiery personality that matched her hair).

But he wasn't pining after his fellow Horsemen. Obviously.

It's just, Danny would often find himself thinking about Jack's infectious happiness, the way his eyes would light up whenever he was pulling a prank, and Merritt when they started their banter, and when Merritt would pull age saying that because he was the oldest, his word mattered more.

Jack was full of energy, and his pranks always managed to make him smile, no matter how mad or sad he was. Jack was like the wind, a mischievous wind, who was always full of energy (except in the mornings) and seemed to always have a laugh on hand. Through trial and error, Danny learned that when Jack was quiet, something was seriously wrong, and was Jack's way of asking for help with a problem or sickness. Usually, Jack would act like everything was just fine until he literally fell down. He would pretend to be fine and joke around until he didn't have the strength to do so, in which case Danny learned to take notice. (Even though many say that Danny doesn't have a heart, Jack would vehemently disagree, though he would never tell Danny.)

Merritt, in Danny's (very accurate) opinion, was an asshole. He showed he cared by being an asshole. Merritt would use his gimmicks (as unlikely as it sounds) to help. On many occasions in which Danny was sulking, Merritt could take less than three minutes to figure out what was going on, so matter how hard Danny tried to keep him from understanding. Danny would never, ever admit that he found Merritt's work very cool and very briefly tried to learn it as well. (It was annoying as hell when it was used on you, but a very useful tool to learn, yet Danny never got the hang of it.)

(Danny tries not to think about Henley and how she felt she was stifled with the Horsemen, and eventually left the three of them alone, with a hole where she used to be.)

Danny remembers times when the three of them would go out for coffee or something, with no goal in mind other than to catch up. He remembers daring Jack to try and steal something from someone, then having to put it back without them noticing. It was a good laugh for all of them when Jack was putting the watch back on the guys wrist when he noticed, and thought he was stealing it. Merritt and Danny were laughing hysterically back in their booth, while Jack frantically tried to explain that he was giving it back.

He couldn't help but look at the chemistry between the three of them and smile when he thought of how Dylan just _knew_ that they would all be perfect for each other, balancing out each other perfectly. Then look away quickly because he wasn't pining after two people of the same sex as him at the same time; that would just be disgusting (he hated himself for how utterly _fake_ the words sounded in his head).

So when Danny got a message that the Horsemen were meeting, he eagerly went over in the hopes that he would see his fellow Horsemen, and was excited about planning a heist with his favorite people.

So It came completely unexpectedly and unwelcome when Danny got to the meeting place and found out that there was supposed to be another (admittedly cute (no no no no no, Daniel, not again!)) Horseman added to the mix. He didn't want another person! He just got over his crush for the other ones (he wasn't over them), he didn't have time to try and deal with another person trying to fill Henley's hole in the group!

He would deal with her in time, but now he finally had another mission from the Eye to complete. He went over the blueprints in his head, quickly memorizing and running calculations in his head figuring out the what's, when's, who's, where's, and how's the mission presented He was just going over what he was supposed to do when Lula started chatting incessantly in his ear, completely cutting off a calculation and throwing him off. His eye twitched and he tried to ignore her, once more trying to complete the calculation. He couldn't concentrate, however, with Lulu's continuous commentary on his lack of answers to his questions.

"… my god you're ignoring me. You're kind of an asshole, you know that?"

"Thank you." Danny said with a smirk, thinking back to the first time Henley and he met Merritt.

"I said you were an asshole."

"I know. And I said, 'thank you.'"

"Whatever." Lula said as she sauntered away.

Danny briefly noticed that she went over to start flirting with Jack, and a bolt of ugly jealously sparked through his stomach. He quickly turned away and rationalized that since Jack didn't like him, and was in no way connected to Danny or under his protection, he should just let it go. (Danny knew somewhere in the dark recesses of his mind that he was in denial, but as long as it stayed in the dark recesses of his mind, he didn't care.)

Over the course of the months that it took to plan the new heist against Owen Case, Danny started to tolerate Lula. He found out that she was surprisingly sarcastic, and had a lot to bring to the team. She was a master at illusions, and knew how to make a completely irrelevant and unassuming thing the main focus while the real magic was going on in the background. (Danny would never say this, but he was impressed. She had even fooled him at one point.)

It took a while to get used to Lula's incessant chattering and smug behavior, but once he did, Danny couldn't help but find himself in as deep with her as he was with Jack and Merritt.

Lula was… interesting. She, like Jack, was constantly full of energy. They hit it off like a house on fire when they learned of each other's passion for using their skills to pull off pranks and make others laugh, but they differed when it came to planning a heist. Jack liked to keep things clean and simple, with less ways for it to go wrong, while Lula preferred a huge and flowery plan with misleading parts and distractions while the true magic was going on in front of their faces if only they would look. Danny often thought that she had a too loud of a presence, but she managed to pull it off very well.

"God damn them, and their unfairly attractive faces, and fuck Jack's smile, and fuck Merritt's amazing comebacks, and fuck Lula and her ability to make anyone smile and fuck them and fuck me…' Danny muttered under his breath as he practiced his part in the heist. Dylan suddenly walked in, and Danny was glad he finished that sentence under his breath. If Dylan heard he didn't know what he would've done.

"Alright, listen up team!" Dylan yelled, and the rest of the horsemen started to pay attention. "Tomorrow's the heist, so make sure you guys get some sleep. I don't need to be pulling Jack along like I had to that one time…" Dylan trailed off as he glared teasingly at Jack.

Jack raised his hands in surrender. "I recall that being _one_ time, and I believe I've learned my lesson."

Danny snorted. He remembered that one time very well with amusement. It had taken nearly three cups of coffee to get Jack coherent enough to do his part in the show. Danny was surprised that Jack had managed to pull his part in the show off, and so well that no one had noticed. As soon as they got off stage however, Danny thought as he said goodnight and went to his allotted room, he had nearly fallen face first in his exhaustion, and required Merritt and Danny to carry him to their car and back to the hotel they had been staying in. Danny and Merritt had teased him about it for ages afterward.

"You know, I've heard that if you're nervous, it can be really helpful to picture each other naked." Danny almost rolled his eyes visibly at Lula awful attempts at flirting with Jack. If he hadn't found it so endearing, he might have been annoyed, but as it stood, he only smirked with slight amusement.

"It's actually picture the audience naked. " Danny felt he had to but in.

"No, this is new. This is a new science. So, I don't know. Do you want.. We should try it." Danny covered his laugh with a cough, amusement flooding his face at Lula, especially since he knew Jack knew what she was doing, and was wonderfully embarrassed at the attention from her.

"Not the right mood."

"Guess that leaves you and me, old buddy." Merritt said, and no, Merritt couldn't seriously be considering…

"What?"

"Picture each other-" Nope. Nopitty nope nope nope. He could not finish that or Danny would be as bright red as a tomato. Danny did not want to be teased mercilessly by Merritt and the others for this, so it would be better to cut that thought off _right now._

"No. No, thank you."

"I mean, I admit, from the neck up there are issues. But from the neck down, I'm good." Danny quickly turned away, hoping to god that Merritt didn't notice him blushing. He was a mentalist though, and probably noticed it despite Danny's efforts to hide it.

Danny hated that one of his crushes was a mentalist.

"Hello New York!"

The Horsemen came onto stage without a hitch, and Danny couldn't help but feel a flash of pride at being on top of the stage, where he belonged, with his fellow Horsemen. It had been forever since he had last been onstage. Danny felt like he was on a high, being in front of a crowd again, and looked to his right, where Merritt was, and to his left, where Lula was, then found Jack in the crowd, and saw him giving them a thumbs up. All of them couldn't stop smiling.

"Thank you so much, it's great to be back! Have you met our new Horseman, Lula, yet?"

He looked to Lula, who, granted looked a little overwhelmed, was smiling. "Feels good, right?"

Danny took a tiny step back and looked at his friends. Merritt was controlling the crowd, as usual, and seemed completely in his element. Lula, next to him, got a bigger part than Danny did tonight because it was her "coming out." Lula was blushing, whether at embarrassment at her warm welcome, or because she was feeling like high like he was was a toss-up.

Danny decided to get the ball rolling with a happy look towards his Horsemen and a "What does your privacy mean to you? Because apparently to Owen Case, it means absolutely nothing."

Danny looked in the crowd and saw Jack with a look of longing in his eyes, before he looked away. Danny then heard Jacks' voice in his ear that the FBI was here, but was pleased to hear that they were continuing with the plan. Danny continued, but the mic started shorting out. He looked quizzically towards Jack and his Horsemen up on stage, but they all shrugged in concern. Danny made a quick hand signal towards Lula, and thank god they knew each other so well because she understood and took over his line.

Danny got really concerned when hers shorted out as well.

Then almost died of shock at the next think that came through the speakers.

"As the Horsemen like to say, magic is about controlling perception. You see them as champions of the truth, but are they? Or is that just another one of their illusions? So, since they clearly love secrets... Let's reveal some of theirs."

"Danny, everyone, get off the stage!"

"Abort!"

"Jack, go with them!"

"I'll see you at the meet-up point!"

"Let's go!"

"Do you recall the death of Jack Wilder? What if I told you he's not just alive, but he's actually right here?"

Danny could only feel terror as he realized that someone knew all of their secrets, that Jack was still alive, oh god. Now the people knew that Jack was alive! Who the fuck?

What the fuck was going on? It was happening so fast, but he managed to hear Dylan yell for them to exit and leave through the rooftop, while he stayed and got out. Then he was running with the most important people in his life. They were running across the rooftop, yelling at each other, but Daniel couldn't really hear or feel anything, stuck in a "What the _fuck_?" mindset. All he could think about was keeping his fellow Horsemen safe, and so threw himself down the slide first, wanting to make sure it was safe…


	2. Part Two

Danny got to the end of the slide expecting a truck, but instead found a… restaurant dumpster?

What the fuck?

He groaned in pain as Jack, then Merritt, then Lula came out on top of him. He got out and looked around, confused, and saw that his friends were confused as well, looking around.

They were in a kitchen, and Danny was half hoping that he was hallucinating, because this looked _bad_. He stumbled along, hands shaking, as they were chased out of the kitchen and into the main room, where they stopped in confusion. Then he heard someone say that Chinese food was just called food here, and his heart dropped.

They were in New York! How did they get in _Macau?_

Then they met Merritt's brother, and, well, Danny wasn't very surprised. He was basically the asshole Danny thought Merritt was going to be the day that he met Merritt; Smooth, arrogant, pissy, and a completer fucker. (Danny was laughing histerically on the inside; the evil twin thing actually _did_ exist! He was distantly aware he should be focusing on other things, but, well, he just went from New York to fucking Macau in two seconds, cut him some slack.)

Danny was panicking, not knowing what situation he was in. He always liked having a plan of action, but he hadn't planned for coming out of a tunnel in _fucking Macau._ He was too busy panicking to notice that they were getting out of the car. He was taking too long, and as a result, ended up getting thrown out. He stumbled, and caught himself, but realized that to keep his friends, out of which he found himself their leader, safe, he would need to get his head in the game. He got into the elevator, not knowing who he was going to get.

Walter was a right bastard.

Who the fuck would take pictures of people while they were in a hypnotized sleep? He was frozen, looking at the pictures of his friends being used, and Walter treating this like a game…. The way Walter was playing with his friends (No, Daniel, _not_ crushes) was literally making him sick to his stomach. Watching those pictures, he couldn't take anymore and looked back to see his friends being assholes right back at Walter. He was so proud of them for channeling their inner Danny.

Danny almost zoned out during Walters first world sob story, while he looked around for a way to escape.

"What makes you think we would even consider doing this?" Oh Danny was so proud of his teammates right now. They were picking up the "asshole" slack while he was still dealing with the tornado in his head due to the loss of control.

"Um, oh, wait, I had a reason. What was it? Oh, yes. You see, back home, you're wanted criminals. But here, I control the police, the casinos, the media. I can give you a new life, out of hiding. And if you don't, I'll have you killed."

Oh. Oh _fuck oh fuck_. God damn him, Walter couldn't kill them! Not his Horsemen!

"You know what? I'm not stealing a thing for you. Not unless Dylan tells me it's okay." Lula said.

 _What?_

"Really? Dylan is where, exactly?" Walter sounds just as confused as Danny did at this point.

"It doesn't matter."

"Yeah, I'm with him. So you can go ahead and kill us because I'm not gonna steal anything for you either." Jack walked up to Merritt and threw his arm over his shoulders, and holy shit, Danny, now was not the time for his petty jealously.

"Strikes me that a consensus seems to be forming, Walter, and we're calling your bluff."

 _NO! You can't!_

"Actually, we'll do it." Danny interjected. He distantly noticed his hands were shaking and quickly put them in his pockets as he stood up. He looked Walter in the eye. "We'll do it."

As soon as Danny finished his list of things he needed and Walter left the room, the Horsemen turned on him.

"Danny what the fuck was that?"

"Oh my God Danny! We needed to wait for Dylan! My God, can't you do one thing right?"

"Why the fuck did you volunteer us for something we _obviously_ did! Not! Want! To do!?"

With every accusation, Danny flinched imperceptibly. "I'm sorry that I didn't want to give up my life for something as stupid as this." Danny said scathingly. "It doesn't matter what Dylan would do because he _obviously_ isn't here! I, for one, do not want to die because I won't do something some stupid rich guys wants us to do, especially when you realize that that something is what we've been training our whole lives for!" Danny knew he was being an asshole, but that was his self-preservation technique. If they think you aren't hurt, they won't go looking for something to hurt.

One by one, his Horsemen filed out of the room, making excuses about going to bed and "needing some space."

Danny watched as the Horsemen left, and as soon as they were all gone, he ran to the bathroom as quickly as he could without falling. His breath was coming in short gasps, and it felt like he wasn't getting any air. As soon as he locked the door behind him, his body gave up on being strong and fell ungracefully in a heap in the middle of the room. Danny distantly noticed that his hands were still shaking and he had a coppery taste in his mouth. He blearily wondered if he had bitten his tongue. His head started to feel woozy, his chest hurt, and somewhere, the logical portion of his mind supplied that he was having a panic attack. That thought was quickly over powered by the panic and adrenalin coursing through his body.

All he could see was the Horsemen dead at Walter's feet, eyes still glaring accusingly at Danny even in death.

"I'm sorry," Danny gasped, vision starting to fluctuate around the edges. "I'm sorry, I swe-swear, I just d—d-didn't want you all to d-die!" Danny gasped frantically. He could feel the adrenalin coursing red-hot throughout his body, but he didn't think he could even move from their accusing stares. He tried and his body moved jerkily, feet and hands not moving at the same time, yet still trying desperately to crawl backwards. His back hit the wall, but could only think of how he was still an easy target, and tried to get to the corner away from the Horsemen. His body gave out halfway to the corner, and he slumped against the wall, head hitting it harshly.

His head hurt, and all faded to black.

Danny woke up with a start, and promptly hit his head on the cabinets behind him. His vision whited out, and he tried to push the pain back as he tried to understand where he was.

Suddenly, it came back in flashes- Lula, Case, Macau, McKinney, Walter, volunteering, dead-

Ah. He had passed out after his panic attack.

( _Weak_.)

Danny got up with a groan. He had to start working on this heist _yesterday_. With him being the one to volunteer and usually taking charge when Dylan wasn't there, he assumed that it fell to him to get the heist in working form. He walked back out to the common room outside where they were staying, and found some supplies scattered on the table in the center. Without panic clouding his mind this time around, Danny could finally appreciate the obvious wealth surrounding them. They were in a skyscraper that was clearly meant to convey wealth, and for easy access to observe the, what Walter probably thought, peasants around them. The actual room, however, was done in lavish furniture, with a cream wall, and accessories screaming 'expensive' all around.

Seriously, who needed two wet bars in the same room?

Danny shook himself out of it and sat down at the table and pulled some of the large sheets of paper toward him. He grabbed the blue prints of the building and the information about the South African gang leader, and started going through scenarios. His mind whizzed with calculations, pushing himself to his mental limits, feeling free as he conducted multitudes of equations and reactions and scenarios in his head to the best of his ability. Feeling free as he was able to do things his way, free as he could sort out himself what he wanted to happen. He felt finally as free as he did when he was a solo artist, being able to be the master mind as he controlled everything behind the scenes, and used each Horseman to their strengths.

"Hey, Danny, are you alright?" Danny jumped, his pencil scratching across the page as he noticed Merritt standing next to him. "I've been standing here for a while, thought you would've noticed," Merritt laughed as he thumped his arm across Danny's back. "Hang on," Merritt noted as Danny still hadn't said anything, "have you been working all night?"

"What would it matter to you," Danny snapped, "After all I can't do anything right." He quoted back Merritt from last (? Holy shit) night, rubbing his eyes as he felt them strain.

"Hey, I'm sorry for what I said in the heat of the moment," a new voice Danny immediately recognized as Jack said from behind them. Danny turned around to see a sleepy, yet oddly serious Jack, followed by a nodding Lula. Danny distractedly thought that it was unfair that Lula was such a morning person.

"Yeah whatever," Danny said and brushed off their apologies. "Let's get to it, yeah? Now here's what I got…"

The Three Horsemen gathered around Danny as he explained his plan to them, yet noticed that Merritt was watching Danny carefully. Danny cursed inside his head, and was hyper aware of anything that the mentalist would possibly take note of.

After a while they all took a break to go eat, but when they asked where Danny wanted to go, he waved them off stating that he needed to work on the plans. He wasn't blind to their looks of skepticism, no matter what they thought. But he _had_ to get these plans absolutely perfect- their lives were in his hands. Danny was so worried because a) if they didn't manage to get the chip, Walter would kill them and b) if they fucked up the mission they would go into international custody and likely be in jail for the rest of their lives. So Merritt and the others could very well go fuck themselves if they tried to get him away from this- their lives were riding on this for God's sake!

Danny worked furiously on the plans for the rest of the day, and it didn't escape the Horseman's notice that he hadn't slept or eaten since their forced nap the other day. By nine o'clock of a full day of frantic work, they all sat down around Danny with their arms crossed and faces saying that they meant business.

Danny noticed them and laughed quietly as he made an adjustment to the plan. "What, is this like an intervention or something?"

"Does it need to be?" Jack asked, and Danny shifted uncomfortably, then swore under his breath as he was sure that Merritt caught that.

"Yep, it's time for Danny-boy to take a break." Merritt said, and damn, Danny really needed to start paying more attention to his body language. "Now go bye-bye, or run the risk of me using my 'gimmicks' on you."

"Fine," Daniel surrendered. "I'll see you all later." He stood up and walked towards his suite, missing the looks of concern the Horsemen shared behind his back.

Danny changed his clothes and got into bed, but was still too wired to sleep. His thoughts started to wander and unsurprisingly went back to the heist.

 _I need to work on the heist, don't they understand that? I need to make sure they're safe. It's my fault that they got into this mess in the first place… They probably sent me to bed because they didn't want me there. They're so sharp all on their own. If I weren't there, maybe…_

He sat up quickly. If he weren't there! He would need to stay for this mission, obviously, as he was needed for some parts of the plan, but if he helped them finish off this mission then left… It would be best for all of them. The true Horsemen would shine, and Danny could finally get over his friends. They wouldn't have to deal with his control freak attitude, and would get along like a house on fire without him to fuck things up and get them into life threating situations. If he left, they wouldn't be in fear for their lives or be on the FBI list…

He jumped out of bed, grabbed a piece of paper and started planning.

As soon as Danny walked out of his room, all eyes turned to him. He was feeling much better, much lighter. He had a plan that would be the best for all of them, but wouldn't tell them because he knew that they would try to stop them out of some misguided feeling of responsibility. He was too tired to deal with that.

They were all looking at him weirdly, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes. "What, something on my face or something?"

Lula gave him a glance. "Nah, you're just much… happier. Kinda don't look like an asshole, if you know what I mean."

"No, I have no idea." Danny stated dryly. "Now let's start practicing with the cards."

(And if Danny helped the others a little more than usual, it wasn't that he was trying to spend the little amount of time he had left with the Horsemen before he left.)

(He would say that they didn't notice, but he was sure they did.)

The hypnotizing of the gang leader was simple and easy enough, which was good because they were all a little nervous for when they had to steal the card. When they had gotten to the building, they all got into character and Danny was hoping that all their planning would be enough.

Danny had a small heart attack as the security officer recognized Lula as the doctor, not him. Danny had then tried not to make his heart eyes at Lula too obvious, because the way she only let her surprise flitter across her face for a moment before taking control of the situation was amazing. He wasn't even that mad that she called him Buffy.

However, when Jack asked him how he was going to get the key through the metal detector, Danny panicked. It didn't matter if they managed to get the card out of the casing, or how much they practiced throwing cards, if they couldn't get it out of the building, the whole mission would fall on its head. He let it fall to the back of his head, hoping to all gods that he would think of something before it was too late. But for now, he had to focus on getting to the point where they had to smuggle the key out of the building.

He saw Merritt start sneezing in order to get the attention away from Jack, and with an almost imperceptible hand motion from Danny, Jack rushed to the other side so he could get the key. Danny, while trying to be subtle, also tried to keep the attention away from Jack. He started talking really loudly to Lula, and scowled a little when she called him "Buffy." Merritt's performance got the job done, but once it was over, Danny would be sure to make sure he never pursued a career in acting.

When Jack came back around, a small nod to Danny and Lula let them know that he'd gotten the key. Merritt, who was being crowed, suddenly stopped coughing and sneezing. The lead security officer looked at Jack, who appeared slightly out of breath, and barked suddenly. Danny internally winced. He didn't want to get patted down, but he had known it was inevitable. He took a breath. They had worked on this. They would be okay.

Danny walked through the metal detector, and was panicking. How would they get the card through it? Lula was trying to buy time, and Danny could only feel disheartened as he came up with no spectacular plan to help. His mind was spiraling, Oh God, they would find the stick and they would get caught, and get into trouble, and go into international custody, and they would never even look at me again…

"Uh, sir, I think you still have my wallet. Remember, I, uh, gave it to you when I came in? It would be nice to leave with it." Jack's oddly serious voice broke through the panic in his head. Seeing Jack standing there with his hand held out; suddenly everything made sense. He looked at Lula, who seemed to understand at the same time Danny did, and nodded slightly, and gave Merritt his best "Don't-fuck-this-up" face.

"Wallet coming through." Now!

Danny "accidently" leaned on the gong as he put his shoes back on, the wallet came through the metal detector and went red with a loud noise, and Merritt quickly threw the key through at the same time, and, for once, Merritt's aim was true. It flew through the air and landed right on Lula's waist as she was adjusting her coat and quickly closed it. Everyone was looking at Danny, though, for hitting the gong, and the pride at successfully completing the heist quickly overpowered any lingering embarrassment at Lula saying that the gong was not a toy, and, once again, calling him Buffy.

They must've made quite a sight, running to the car as soon as they were out of view of the building. It didn't matter though. They had gotten through without getting caught, and were home free to give this stick to the Eye, and stick it in Walter's face as they did so.

They all got in the car and quickly started driving away, breaking more than a few traffic rules as they did so. Lula put on some music, and Danny just leaned back and enjoyed the victory with the Horsemen around him. Lula started singing along with the music, and Merritt put his feet up on the dashboard, with a large smile on his face. He heard Merritt call out Lula for singing awfully, and challenged if he could do any better. Merritt started singing, and was just as awful as Lula. They burst out laughing, and invited Danny and Jack to join.

Jack, surprisingly, had the voice of an angel. (How did Danny know Jack for a _year_ and never heard him sing?) Once he started singing, the whole car went quiet. Until, of course, Lula starting miming playing an exaggerated guitar along with Jack and the whole car burst into laughter again. Merritt started teasing Jack about his voice, so Danny just stayed quite for the most part and enjoyed the feeling of victory with the Horsemen.

He would have to leave soon, but that could wait as he spent one more night indulging in the comradery between the four of them.

(He fell a little bit more in love with each of them right then, though.)


	3. Part Three

Danny left the Horsemen late at night, stating that he was going to meet the Eye in the marketplace. He surreptitiously took a small bag of his things so that once he dropped the stick off, he could vanish. He slowly made his way to the meeting place, making sure he had everything he would need. Money, change of clothes, baseball hat, and a little nonperishable food. He nodded and made it to the rendezvous a little early. He was on the lookout for someone who matched the description that was given to him on the phone. Suddenly, Danny saw a much more unwelcome sight appear.

"What are you doing, Rhodes?"

As Dylan started spewing some shit about where he was and how he was sorry, Danny couldn't help but roll his eyes internally. Really? He risked Merritt's, Jack's, and Lula's lives! That was not something he could forgive easily. And if he were being honest, Danny liked planning the heists because he could control where the Horsemen were, and put them in the least threatening situations, while Dylan had no reserves about that. Danny knew he was biased, but Dylan could've been a little more careful.

Suddenly, Danny couldn't take it anymore.

"Dylan, you're not our leader anymore, okay? You're not our hero. You're not FBI. You're not a magician. You're not really anything. And we trusted you for a year. So if you really want to help us... If you really want to help us, you would leave."

"I get it. Cool. Bye." Dylan was hurt by his words, that much was clear. But Danny was already jittery due to leaving the best people in his live, and nervous about meeting the Eye. As Dylan turned his back and started walking away, Danny couldn't help but wince from the guilt that was pouring into his stomach. He didn't mean half the things he said, but he would fix it later. Right now he had to focus.

The clock ticked to the moment the Eye had said to be there, and as soon as he saw the "Eye," Danny wished Dylan were here with him again.

Walter.

Danny felt as if all the air in his lungs had been stripped away. He was doused in cold water, drowning, he couldn't get enough air, yet he could still hear Walter talking. All the pieces were falling into place. He had been played. Danny hadn't known that all his weaknesses were so blatant to everyone; now he was thankful he was leaving after this. The Horsemen couldn't have such an obvious weak link in their tem. Oh God, what was he going to do? He couldn't give the key to Walter…

"So, the stick?"

"No." Danny didn't know what he was going to do, but if they got the stick it would be over his dead body. He may be an asshole, but he wasn't going to condemn the world by giving the "dead" evil genius the key to all computers.

Suddenly, he was thrown backward into the wall. For the second time in as many minutes, all the breath left his body. He looked up, gasping, and saw… Dylan? Dylan ripped the stick from his unresponsive hand, asking if Danny really thought he was just going to walk away, and then pushed him backwards with a hand on his chest through a fake wall. Danny tumbled down the stairs, but managed not to fall. He felt something where Dylan had placed his hand to push him back. In the pocket, he found the stick.

He smirked and was walking away when he heard sounds of fighting. He quickly made his way to an innocuous corner and found Dylan putting up quite a fight, only to be taken away when he was finally down.

Danny cursed and started running to the meet up with the others.

"What do you mean you found Dylan?"

"He was taken away?"

"Why didn't you help him?"

" _What_ did you say to him?"

Danny winced as the angry, disbelieving voices reached a crescendo around him. He only told them the barest of details, needing to go and find out where he was taken. He was still out of breath from his run to the rendezvous, so he was getting the details out in gasps. He really needed to run more.

"Doesn't matter! We've got to go!" Danny interrupted, and, thankfully, the Horsemen quieted down. However, the look on Merritt's face told him this conversation wasn't over just yet.

The Horsemen and Danny ran back to the courtyard, only to find Dylan gone. They did, however, find a shifty looking car and a safe that resembled the one that his dad died in, so they pooled their luck and started to follow them.

They got to the river in time to see a safe splash into the water, and see Walter and his father turn and walk away. Danny frowned. They seemed awfully chipper, and where was Dylan…

The safe.

Danny took a running dive into the water, disregarding any other sounds the Horsemen made. He shucked off his jacket and he ran to the side, knowing that he couldn't let the Horsemen do it instead of him.

They wouldn't want to see Dylan like this. He didn't want them to jump into the freezing cold river. He couldn't let them risk their lives for this. This situation was his fault, he needed to fix this. Dylan was in this situation because of him.

Then he was submerged into freezing cold water and almost lost all breath in his lungs. He saw the safe at the bottom just in time to see Dylan open the door of the safe. He was filled with happiness for a moment before icy terror gripped him: Dylan wasn't moving. Finding new strength in his body he kicked himself over to Dylan's slumped form. He grabbed him and pulled his dead weight up to the surface, praying that he wasn't too late.

He broke the surface, gasping, and managed to haul Dylan up to the surface as well. He looked at Dylan's unconscious face, and panicked because Dylan still wasn't breathing. Danny practically threw Dylan as much as he could to the shore in his haste, and Jack, Merritt, and Lula all grabbed Dylan, pulled him out of the water, and onto the shore where they started preforming CPR.

Danny, left in the icy water, tried to pull himself out, but he couldn't grab onto anything since his hands were numb. He would not recommend jumping into a river in Macau in the winter. He managed to find a seemingly steady rock and pull himself out, but felt a something tug under his hand. He looked down at his hands, and saw that the rock had cut his hand pretty badly. His hands were shaking, so Danny looked around furtively, and quickly put them in his pockets. He looked up, only to find Dylan gasp for breath and wake up flailing, then turn over to cough the rest of the water out of his lungs.

Danny felt warmth over his body- or as much as he could, considering that he couldn't feel half his body- because Dylan was alive, and that Walter and Tressler didn't manage to kill him.

Danny was pretty sure he couldn't run away right now if he tried- he didn't have the energy, nor was he at his best to avoid the Horsemen, or worse, the Eye, and the Horsemen needed all the help they could get.

Wrapped up in a warm towel back at Longs, Danny was sitting on the stairs with the Horsemen. He fiddled with the bandage around his hand, and cursed himself for being so weak. The Horsemen were discussing the stick being fake, and he looked up sharply when someone accused him of misplacing it.

"Right, which I then gave to Dylan. Is there any chance you might have misplaced it?"

"No, I took it from you, then slipped it back into your coat when I pushed you out."

"Either way, we're left holding a big sack of nada." Merritt groused from his spot in the room, but Danny had to disagree. The Horsemen weren't nothing!

Apparently, Lula agreed as she started to rant a motivational speech, and if Danny wasn't in love with her before she started, he sure was now. The way she spoke made her whole face brighten, even though she was on the (currently) losing side, and she spoke with such a passion and belief even though she hadn't been a Horseman for very long. It seemed that when Lula talked, her hair shone, her skin glowed, and her vocal cords attached each word with a perfect amount of emphasis and tone, as if it didn't dare to disobey her.

Jack, listening to the speech from Lula, actually, honest-to-god, leaned in with his lips parted, as if enraptured by her very presence. And if Danny wasn't blind (he wasn't) he would be a fool to miss the stares of longing those two gave each other. Danny looked around to see if Merritt was watching this, only to find that he, too, was watching and listening to Lula with a startling intensity. Danny felt his lips quirk upwards into a smirk as he saw that his hat, which Merritt wouldn't take off for the world, was tilted slightly. Danny would bet that if Merritt would shift a few degrees, that hat would fall off, and he probably wouldn't even notice.

Still, Danny was surprised to see the look that Merritt was giving Lula was similar to the one Jack gave Lula days after meeting her. If Danny wasn't mistaken (which he tried not to be with the Horsemen), Merritt would soon find himself in love with Lula. Either Merritt would find himself in a world of heartbreak because Lula was the most obvious person when she is pining for Jack, or Danny would be _extremely_ jealous.

Which was not the point. At all.

(Besides, what were the chances that the people he loved were not only bisexual, but also polygamous? There was no way. Danny just really needed to leave so he could stop fucking up the group.)

Anyway, after Lula's motivational speech, she stopped, and seemed to realize what she had done. She shrank a little back into herself, embarrassed that she spoke out, and hell no, she wasn't going to feel that way, so Danny spoke up.

"There's a quote. Um... It's actually by the magician that made me want to do this in the first place. It's, uh... 'A magician's greatest power lies forever shrouded in his empty fist.'"

"And the very idea that he can convince the world that he is, in fact, carrying with him a secret."

And Danny felt a strange warmth when Dylan finished the quote. He saw Jack and Merritt nodding, and he felt a rush of pride. These were his Horsemen, and he would never let them fall. They could do this. They could convince the world, but most especially Walter that they were not beaten, that they were still there; they could come back from this.

Then Li and his grandmother came in and he felt like an idiot all over again. That he was stupid to think that the Eye had abandoned them, that they weren't watching everything, that they hadn't seen him fuck up, but still wasn't angry, but he mostly felt stupid because Li's grandmother spoke English.

Whatever.

They got a game plan, and supplies, and suddenly Danny felt as if they had a chance. He was worried about Jack, having the biggest role since he had faked his death, and hoped that nothing would happen to him. He was worried about Merritt, as he could see that his run ins with his brother had really shaken him up. He was especially worried about Lula, as this was the biggest show of her life, and all the stress was on her to make sure she got her part right. Danny was sure that they could all manage to pull it off though. He knew they had it in them.

They were in London for the biggest magic show yet.

Danny couldn't wait. (He tried not to think about how this would be his last show with the Horsemen; he just tried to enjoy it.)

They made one last pass around, then they all took off for their portions of London for their mini-show. Danny started to run to his section, knowing that his was the farthest one away, all the while trying to keep his head down and identity hidden from those around him. He wasn't going to mess this up, not for the world. He saw the colored lights in the distance and knew that Jack and Lula had started their shows. He then heard Dylan whisper that he was up through the comms just a minute after he had sprinted across the street to his section of the city.

"I have a confession to make." Danny started to yell, smirking slightly as he heard gasps and whispers that told him he was recognized. "I've been told I have some control issues. I've learned that it's really, really hard to control people, so I'm gonna try to control something that's a lot easier than people. I'm gonna try to control the weather. Yeah, rain, um... It'd be a little difficult to make it rain, right? That would be something that only God can do, right? I'm gonna do something that God can't do. I'm not just gonna make it clear up. No, no, no. I'm gonna make it actually _stop_."

And as he said "stop," he thrust his hands out and started the strobe lights. "And can God do that? Mmm. No, I don't think so. Or what about make it go up?"

Once again, as soon as he said "up," the strobe lights changed and it seemed as if the rain was actually going up. Even knowing how the trick worked, it still looked amazing. He had controls strapped to his wrists, so that where ever Danny threw his arms, the rain would look like it was going. Danny could hear murmurs of amazement throughout his audience, and smirked a little wider. It was going perfectly. He soaked in the admiration and love this crowed gave him, knowing it would be his last for a while, barring any complications…

"Wrap it up. Meet me at the rendezvous point now." Danny tried not to curse. They weren't supposed to leave for another three minutes!

"Now! Was that an act of God? No. No, no, no, that was an act of me And the strobe lights and rain machines. And I hope you guys were paying attention, because you're gonna need to know all of that for the final." Danny then let the rain fall again, cut the strobe lights and got ready for his disappearing act. He held his arms out to the side and heard a loud bang as he fell backwards. He shucked his jacket off at the right moment and fell through the trap door in the road before hitting the ground underneath with a loud thud. Pain lanced up his side and it felt as if his shoulder was on fire.

He cursed and looked to see what happened, and as he glanced at his shoulder he paused in shock. There was so much blood. He remembered the loud bang and the pieces fell together in his head.

He got shot.

He got _shot_!

He tried to grab his head in his shock, but the pain that lanced through him quickly stopped that movement. The pain stopped the mind numbing shock that prevented movements, and it all caught up to him too quickly. He was shaking and started cursing so fast trying to remember what the people in the movies did when they got shot.

"Pressure- pressure- cloth- shit- shirt? Cut it off- no, no scissors- tear- come on damnit! scarf… FUCK…"

His whole body was shaking and his hands were moving jerkily, but he managed to get pieces of his shirt torn off in order to put pressure on his wound. He yelled in pain, and his hand fell limply to his side.

"Danny? Where are you? Hurry up!" Dylan's voice cut through his panicked mind through the comms, and he realized he completely forgot about the Horsemen.

He opened his mouth to snap that he was sorry he wasn't on time, that he had just gotten _shot_ , and he was entitled to a few minutes panic, thank you very much, but instead only got out "What Dylan? I'm sorry I'm not fast enough for you! I'm coming keep your pants on!" Danny was proud because his voice hadn't wavered like he wanted it to, and instead only came out snappish. But that wasn't out of the ordinary.

He knew though, he knew he couldn't let himself bleed out, so he got his scarf, and made a makeshift bandage that went over his shoulder and tied around his side. It wasn't pretty, but it kept the pieces of his shirt in place and put pressure on his wound so he grabbed his jacket and threw it on, and his ran off in the direction of the rendezvous. Two steps into his run, however, he cursed himself and Dylan and all the Horsemen for putting him the farthest away. Every step he took was another bolt of agony down his shoulder and arm, and he was sweating three steps into the run. Five minutes in, and he had no idea how he was going to hide this from the Horsemen.

"Danny where the fuck are you?" Came crackling through his comms, and Danny cursed. He was thankful, however, that he was only a block away, and huffed out that he got kept up by some detectives. He spent a few seconds wiping the sweat from his head before he composed himself and stepped into the light at the rendezvous. He needed to be careful, as Merritt was a mentalist, and if he thought something was wrong, then he would pay close attention to every move he made. He did not need the Horsemen worried for him on their biggest show/con yet. That would not be conducive to a good outcome.

With a few teasing remarks in Lula's direction about the motorcycles, Danny got on, trying not to wince too much, and thanking the lord for the helmet that was mostly covering his face. He revved his motorcycle, and started speeding out of the courtyard they were in, but as soon as he saw Jack go down, he swerved and yelled at Dylan.

Danny cursed, wondering how he forgot that there was supposed to be a fight. He tried to protect the Horsemen, trying to keep them from getting beaten up too badly, but putting himself in their line of fight was not conducive to helping his gunshot wound. More than once, he had to bite back a moan of pain when he tried one too many times to take a punch that was meant for Merritt.

He tried, damn he tried so hard to keep them from getting thrown around, but he knew they had to.

He hoped to God that Li managed to take out the driver so that they didn't all die.

They got thrown into the car, and all stayed quiet. Danny was just hoping he didn't get thrown around too much, as he couldn't let the Horsemen know he was shot. God, it didn't get any easier saying that.

The world seemed too bright, and he could feel the rough back of the chair shift underneath his clothing. He could hear Dylan breathing, and could smell the sweat from everyone in the bus. Danny could feel his hands shaking, the throbbing in his shoulder and could feel the adrenaline race through his body. Everything seemed too close, too bright, too present, and Danny felt overwhelmed. He closed his eyes and tried to control his reactions and slow his breathing.

All of a sudden, though, he felt the truck stop sharply and someone roughly grab his arm and pull him out of the truck. He stumbled, and felt someone push him towards the plane. He saw Jack looking at him, concerned, and Danny managed to shake his head slightly, warning him not to say anything. Jack's face tightened, but obeyed him anyway.

He was thrown into the plane, and he withheld a moan of pain with just his willpower, and was glad that Merritt was looking the other way. He was thrust into a seat and winced as the back of the chair harshly hit his scarf that he had wrapped around his shoulder. He almost missed his favorite asshole started speaking.

"You know, you make it almost too easy? I mean, even your hilarious attempts to make yourselves unpredictable, just follow the same pattern each time. Set up, set up, set up. Big reveal. Which tonight was going to be stroke of midnight, middle of the Thames? Tell me if I'm warm. Well, there will be a big reveal, and it will come now." Walter looked around expectantly.

"The stick, dear boy."

"No."

"Fine. Start with her."

 _What?_ Oh God not _again_! He wasn't supposed to pull a knife on Lula and start threatening their lives!

"Whoa, whoa, hey, hey, hey!"

"Give it to him."

"Danny, give him the card."

"Just give it to him."

"Danny, come on!"

And yes, Danny knew he had to give the damn stick to Walter, but he was the source of most of their problems so far (disregarding the fact that Danny allowed them to be manipulated in the first place). Danny didn't want to give the stick to Walter, even if it was fake. Even if he knew that this was a huge setup for Walter and his father. Even if he knew they would all be safe when they got thrown out of the plane.

But Danny didn't want to see the look of arrogance that crossed Walter's face when he thought he won. It would feel too much like this gunshot wound in his shoulder.

But Lula's life was in danger. So it didn't matter. He flicked the case into his hand and cursed himself for putting it into his left sleeve, the same arm that had gotten shot. He hoped Merritt and the others would interpret his grimace as having to give the stick over, and not realize he was, in fact, in a fuckton of pain.

Walter's look of arrogance and pride was the worst thing that Danny had ever seen. His thank you was so smug; Danny couldn't wait until the tables were turned.

"Okay, I owe you an apology." Danny turned to Dylan and couldn't help the fury that rose in his chest at him apologizing. Danny knew that this was all supposed to be an act, but come on! They shouldn't be _risking each other's lives!_ Lula could have _died!_

"Leader, you should have planned an escape, okay?" Danny couldn't help putting some of his real anger behind these words, and the way Dylan's face shut down with guilt let Danny know his message was received.

"This is the both of us." Danny could tell this was a promise to talk about it later, and Danny agreed, knowing that since he was leaving after this, he didn't really care what Dylan thought right now.

"Okay, it's the both of us."

"Guys, come on!" Once again, Danny couldn't help it. He snapped. There were so many people blaming him, and he knew it was his fault, but seeing it in action from the most important people in his life just made it all the worse. The pain from his shoulder was making him woozy, he hadn't slept since his hypnotized sleep, was running on coffee (which he could feel he would need more of soon), his hands had been shaking since he got out of the river to save Dylan, and he was desperately trying to conceal all of this from his friends. He was irritable, tired, in pain, and in desperate need of food, sleep, and comfort (and love). None of which was he getting.

"You, to save your little girlfriend!" Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Danny winced imperceptibly. It was harsh and he knew it, but he didn't have the energy to apologize. That, and it would mess up the mission.

"To save my... He had a knife to her head!" Jack sounded so offended on her behalf, and Danny couldn't blame him. He knew it was weak, but he was so glad he was leaving so he didn't have to deal with the conversations afterwards.

"I'm a Horseman, you dick!" Danny flinched. The actual hurt that came from Lula at those words struck a chord, and Danny decided it would be in his best interests to close his mouth so he couldn't hurt them anymore.

He just fucked up everything he saw, didn't he?

The Horsemen continued to bicker, and Danny just shut up and tried not to pass out. Even with his phenomenal willpower to not fuck this up, and not wanting to give the Horsemen anything to worry about, he could tell he was nearing the end of his rope. He shut his eyes and tried to control his breathing.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I just have to say congratulations. And thank you! It's real." Walter said the last part to his father.

Danny felt himself go into shock at these words. It was fake. He hadn't lost it since they realized it was fake, so how could it be real? He pushed it out of his head as Walter's goons lined them up. It didn't matter if it was fake or real. That wasn't the point. Walter and his father were gloating, and he distantly heard Merritt make a joke about the liquor, but now was not the time. He made eye contact and shook his head tightly. Merritt, thankfully, shut up, but Walter then asked Chase what they should so with them.

Danny held his breath.

"Toss them out." And released it. Jack had gotten him hypnotized. Not that he doubted Jack, but Merritt was the mentalist, and if he had gotten wrong, there might not have been a show to put on.

He distantly heard Merritt and the others yelling words as they were thrown out of the plane, but Danny was so dizzy and his hands _were still shaking_. He was roughly shoved forward, and he stumbled, but the goons thought it was him fighting back, and just started manhandling him out of the plane.

As he flew out of the plane, before he hit the mat, he realized what a bad idea it was and tried to shift so he wouldn't land on his wound, and braced himself for impact.

Fire.

Oh God damn! Fuck! It felt like fire was lancing down his side, from his neck to his hip, and honest to god couldn't feel his bicep on his left side. He groaned, then realized the Horsemen were probably looking at him right now.

Danny opened his eyes (when had he closed them), and looked around blearily. The Horsemen were looking at him, concerned, and he realized he may have blacked out from the pain for a few seconds. He stood up, and tried to conceal his swaying, and looked down at his shoulder. Thank God his clothes were black or the world would probably been able to see his shirt soaked with his blood. He closed his jacket more securely around him, and looked up to see Jack especially close.

"Hey man, you okay?' Jack whispered once the other Horsemen went around to the windows to scare Walter.

"Yeah." Danny said tightly. "Just knocked the wind out of me, you know?" Danny tried for a laugh, but it came out flat, and Jack frowned even more. However, it was show time for Walter and his father, so Jack gave him a look that clearly said they would be talking about it later, and they walked (or in Danny's case, stumbled) over to the rest of the Horsemen.

The cheering and noise started and all the lights that were suddenly on them acted as its own form of coffee. He started, then found strength he didn't know he had in order to stand up mostly straight. He drew energy from the crowd, and hoped to God that no one noticed his pale face and that his voice, while steady, wasn't as strong as it should have been.

"No, you should feel pretty good about yourself, man. You predicted it correctly. The Thames, stroke of midnight. New Year's Eve. Happy New Year!" Danny savored the look on Walter's face, and felt pride that he and the Horsemen had managed to get the best of them, that for all his doubts and complications, had completed their biggest heist yet, and lived to tell the tale.

"Wow! Thank you very much, London! We would like to acknowledge not just our old friend, Arthur Tressler, but his young and very brilliant son, Walter Mabry. Who has performed one of the greatest feats of illusion even we have ever seen. He has, amazingly, brought himself back from the dead!" Danny managed to smirk as he said this, knowing that Mabry's future and life's work had just come crashing down around his ears.

He enjoyed watching the look of devastation that went across Mabry's face. It was petty and purely for revenge, but he never claimed to be a good man.

"But before he did that, he revealed someone. And we think it only right to give him a proper introduction." Merritt said, and Danny quickly tacked on, hoping that this was enough of an apology for what he said on the plane.

"He is our friend and he is our leader. Dylan Shrike!" And with those words, Danny breathed a sigh of relief as his talking parts were over. He just had to stand there, not pass out, show the stick, not pass out, and say the ending words to their show, and leave. And not pass out.

He distantly heard the H0rsemen telling Mabry and his father how they managed to manipulate the whole scene, and thanked the lord for Lula, who bailed him out by saying his line about making the airplane fly. He needed to get himself together.

He looked around at the Horsemen, in their element onstage, all practically glowing with happiness and pride even when the spotlight wasn't on them. He saw Merritt really get into it, talking powerfully and moving his hands, trying to get the audience engaged. Jack, who could control the audience with a slight tilt of his head, a small movement with his hands, just one powerful word, was getting the message across. Lula, her bright energy, hopping across the stage and getting them to laugh, making them realize that no matter how serious Mabry's sins were, this was magic, and it was meant to entertain.

He then heard Merritt and Dylan talk about the sins that Mabry committed, and as soon as he heard Dylan say his line, he took the cue for the end.

"Thank you, everybody! Th- we are the Horsemen and we will be back very soon!" Danny yelled to the audience, and watched as they heralded in the New Year. At one, he saw Lula pounce on Jack and kiss him furiously, and Danny felt his stomach twist. He wouldn't have to deal with the jealously for very long though, and if they were all over each other on the boat, the easier it would be for him to get away. He saw a group hug forming, and stood on the end, savoring his last moments as part of the team, and trying not to flinch when someone brushed his shoulder.

He then heard Dylan yell and they got off the barge and into the duplicate boat that looked exactly like the other police ones that were circling the barge.

The escape off the barge was actually very easy. They would circle the barge like the actual police boats, slip off to dock somewhere, and then they would all split up going their separate ways in order to meet at the rendezvous in two hours. Danny would use those two hours to get away as far as possible. And his first stop: a hospital.

They docked the boat, and Jack and Lula went together, straight, acting as a lovesick couple on a date, Merritt went to the left, and Danny went to the right. Danny crossed a few corners, looked back furtively, and hoped that the Eye wasn't watching right now, as he took a left instead of a right, and headed towards his stash that he hid on his way to his set up a few hours before.

Five minutes later, he had his things, and was stumbling towards a hospital and hoping like hell that no one recognized him. Luck was on his side, thankfully, and stumbled into a hospital. The bright white lights and sterile white everywhere blinded him for a second, and with the last strength he had he went to the person at the front deck. He didn't lift his head, knowing that he would be recognized, and almost started as the girl's voice startled him.

"Sir? How can I help you?"

Danny, still with his head down, asked, "How is your patient confidentiality?" He knew his voice sounded desperate, but he had to know the Horsemen couldn't find him. His eyes closed without his permission.

"It's the best around here," the girl continued. "Sir, sir, are you hurt, sir?" Her voice went up in pitch towards the end as she realized what happened, but Danny still wouldn't lift his head.

"Do. Not. Tell. Anyone." He commanded. "Especially not the police."

"Sir, we need to get you into medical righ-"

"No." He cut her off, voice cutting through hers like steel. The panic and confusion of the girl was drawing attention Daniel did not want. He lowered his voice even more. "People know me, people in the police and I will walk back out that door if you don't promise me _right here_ that you will tell _no one_ about me or the nature of my injuries." It was a bluff, and Danny could tell that the girl knew it, as he was swaying so much it was a miracle he was still standing, but he got his point across.

The girl nodded. "I'll tell the doctor." Danny breathed out, and the last of his strength faded, his vision falling with his body to the floor right in the middle of the waiting room.

He distantly heard the girl calling for the medics, and felt people bustling around him, and picking him up, but Danny closed his eyes and gave into the darkness that had been creeping at the edges of his vision since the airplane, knowing that the Horsemen and he were finally safe.

 **The angst you guys! The angst! Don't worry, the Horsemen won't let him run away for very long. Long enough, however, so I can torture Danny. But I'm excited. Are you excited? (Get excited!)**

 **Happy Thanksgiving y'all! I hope you all enjoyed going into food comas, because I certainly did! Thank you to all who reads and reviews! I like to imagine that even if you don't comment you're still cheering for me in your head.**

 **Thanks, KaenNoMai**


	4. Chapter 4

Danny awoke with a gasp, the Horsemen's name on his lips. They were gone, dead, NO! He had to get to them, quickly, they needed him, no, no, no he killed them- it was too bright, where the hell was he? Didn't matter, he needed to get out- right now!

Danny sat up and his shoulder screeched in protest, his pulse suddenly pounding in his ears, and he heard a machine start blearing, but in his panicked state, he could only focus on getting out. His hands were shaking as he tried to get out of the bed that was in the room, but as soon as he put pressure on his legs, they collapsed beneath him, and felt a tugging sensation on his arm. He looked confusedly at it, and what? Why the hell was there an IV in his arm?

He stared dumbly at it before people started rushing into his room and he was reminded why he had to get out. The Horsemen! They needed him!

People in white uniforms started picking him up, and he started gasping, "T-t-the Horsemen! Lul-Jack-'erritt! They, they need me!" He tried to get them to understand, arms and legs flailing, trying to get out, but one man just put him back in the bed saying words that didn't quite make it to Danny's head.

"They're safe, they're safe, they're looking for you, you disappeared… Sir! Sir, you need to calm down!"

"Lula! Jack! Merritt!" Danny was gasping and he couldn't get enough air, his chest hurt, and his shoulder hurt, and _where were his loves?_ They were his to protect, Dylan wasn't coming, his fault….

Danny felt a prick in his arm amid his flailing, and his strength started to ebb away, still trying to find them, find…

When Danny woke up the second time, it was a much calmer affair, and came to much more slowly. He woke, and the last thing he remembered was falling unconscious in the Hospital waiting room. He opened his eyes, but the white light blinded him, and immediately closed them again. He tried to raise his hands to cover his eyes as one hell of a headache made itself known, but he frowned in confusion at the fact that he couldn't move his hands.

As soon as Danny could open his eyes without pain, he looked down and saw… handcuffs? Why was he handcuffed to the bed?

Then his panic attack made itself known in his head, and he groaned, letting his head fall back to the bed. Oh God, what did he do?

His pity party was interrupted as a doctor walked in, not looking at all surprised at him being awake. "Hello Mr. Atlas." He greeted.

Danny's head whipped sharply to the doctor's eyes as soon as he heard his name, even as his head protested the movement. "You didn't tell anyone, did you?"

The doctor frowned. "No, but I don't understand why you won't let us tell anyone. It's our policy to report violent attacks…" He trailed off, hoping that Danny would clue him in.

"I told you… at least I think I did… I know people in the police force who are looking for me. Plus, this wasn't a serial killer or anything, they just wanted to incapacitate me so I wouldn't be able to do my final trick." Danny gave him the shortened version.

"And a very impressive trick it was, Mr. Atlas. I understand why you don't want us to tell the police, but at least let us release that there is a guy with a gunshot wound."

Danny pondered the proposal. "Why do you want to tell them?"

"There is a sniper with a gun that is prone to violence that is running around. He might hurt someone else." The doctor pointed out drily, and, okay, maybe Danny wasn't at his sharpest right now.

"Fine," Danny conceded, "but only under the name John Doe. Don't mention my name."

"Fine," The doctor frowned. "But now onto you! You came to me with severe dehydration, evidence you haven't eaten anything in over twenty-four hours, a mild concussion, a cut on your hand, severe fatigue, various cuts and bruises, and, of course, a gunshot wound, which needed immediate attention, and surgery to get the shrapnel out." As the doctor read out everything, Danny couldn't help but wince. Yeah, that sounded bad. "Care to inform me, Mr. Atlas, when the last time you slept, drank, and ate was? In that order please." The doctor's voice was icy, and Danny couldn't blame him. He pen was poised to begin writing.

Wanting to avoid his impending doom, Danny looked around the room. There were no windows, which meant no one could look in, the walls and floors were sterile, and there was a distinct lack of anything personal.

"Anytime now would be perfect." The doctor's voice sounded like the temperature of the water he pulled Dylan out of.

"Ummm… I was hypnotized into sleep around…" He paused. When was the last time he slept? "…Four or five days ago? I think? I've been running off of coffee. I drank coffee 'round five hours before I came to you guys, before my show, and… ate an apple then? I'm sorry I can't remember the last time I drank water." Danny was honestly confused about the last time he did those things, he just couldn't remember, he was too focused on the Horsemen, making sure they were all safe.

"I see." The doctor's voice was slightly gentler than before, and the doctor could tell that Danny finally understood the severity of his situation. "Well, Mr. Atlas, you have been here for three days, catching up on sleep except for your panic attack some time ago, which is why you're handcuffed. Can I trust that you won't try to run away?" His voice was teasing.

Danny however, was in shock. He had been here for three days? He must've been worse off than he had thought. "Yeah," He said absently, and watched as the doctor undid the cuffs.

The doctor walked out the door before he paused and turned back. "I don't think I need to say this, but _please_ don't rip those IV's out. They are the only things keeping you alive right now." His voice was littered with dry amusement, and then left.

Danny huffed out a quiet laugh at that, head falling back onto the pillow. He guessed he would be here awhile, so he might as well get caught up on his sleep, he thought blearily. Yeah, sleep sounded pretty good right now…

In the end, Danny was with Dr. Barton for a little over three weeks. The main portion of his healing was done, but the stiches were still there, and he had to take two Advil every six hours or so. He didn't have full range of motion in his shoulder, but he was told that once they got the stiches out and if he stuck to the therapy stretches they gave him, he would eventually gain back his full range of motion. He still wasn't back up to strength, and little amounts of walking or any other activity would leave him breathless. He was told he would get better in time. As he left, Danny was told, in no uncertain terms, that he was to come back twice every week for the next two weeks, and once every week for three weeks after that, and to _not_ overdo it for Christ's sake. Danny got the feeling that people often did the opposite of what Dr. Barton told them. Danny, however, was fully intending to find a cheap apartment and hole up there for a few months so he could vanish. He would listen to Dr. Barton.

The Horsemen were still in London, having panicked after losing Danny. They had released news that he was missing to the public, and everyone was on high alert trying to find him. The public had slowly gotten back to their daily lives after a few days, but it was common (assumed) knowledge that the Horsemen were still looking for him.

Dr. Barton had often asked Danny why he wouldn't tell the Horsemen where he was, but the most he ever got was a muffled, "I'm not a Horseman, I killed them," and a closed off expression. Dr. Barton didn't approve, but Danny didn't care. He was a doctor, not a therapist.

Danny didn't have his old phone on him. He had thrown it into the Thames so the Horsemen couldn't track it. He had bought himself a new one, but to avoid credit card charges, he had taken a couple thousand out of his account in cash. He made sure to use the money he did have sparingly, and only got what he needed.

He rented out a shabby old apartment that was barren save for a few blankets folded up in the corner where he slept. His room smelled of mold and mildew, and there was water damage in the corners of the roof, but it kept him warm at night and provided him a place to stay outside of the public eye. It wasn't much, just a two room apartment. There was a living room/ bedroom, and a kitchen on the far side. In the other (very small) room, there was a bathroom. The sad excuse for a shower was small, and on the far side sat one ragged towel that he used. It wasn't much, but it was where he decided to stay.

Two days after he had gotten out of the hospital, Danny had looked around and wondered if this was what his life was to be. He couldn't be a magician anymore; so what was he to become? He decided to go down to the library. It was a couple of blocks down from his apartment, and Danny decided the fresh air would do him some good.

Indeed, the fresh air was pleasantly cool, and a fresh smell of mint that reminded him too much of Lula. He wistfully remembered that she loved peppermint. He resolved to get some peppermint hot chocolate when he went to the store next time. He hummed along the route, feeling light that Christmas was coming soon, and fondly remembering the Christmas with Jack and Merritt, and wondered if Lula and they would be creating any new Christmas traditions this year. The thought didn't bother him.

He got to the library, and smiled at the man behind the desk. He asked for a new library card under the name Matt Fromm, and started to browse. Then stopped. What did he want to do with himself? God it was like he was back in high school all over again, wondering what he was going to major in, what he was going to do for the rest of his life. He hesitantly stepped towards the section about law. He hoped it would all come back fast.

Damn, what was he going to do about a degree?

He'd think about it later. Checking out a couple of books then sitting down in a surprisingly comfortable chair, he started reading in the warmth that the library offered.

The library quickly became his favorite place. Who knew he'd be such a Ravenclaw?

The library was always warm and quiet, and the tall stacks of books always interested him. Whether it was the quickly returning knowledge of law that he studied in college or some mystery book that he read for fun, he always found something interesting. When he had to go back to his apartment or a checkup with Dr. Barton, he would check out a book. He was amazed at all the knowledge that he was accumulating, and everything seemed so interesting.

Once, he saw a young university student struggling with computer science, and traced his actions from a table back. It seemed interesting enough, and when he went home for the night he went to check out a book on it, but quickly found that there were too many languages to choose from. He picked out the one closest to him and looked at it. _Computing in Java._ Seemed good enough.

Reading the book, he was boggled at how much effort it took to program, but as he got more into it, he suddenly realized all the benefits he could have just from learning the basics, and suddenly he was hooked.

(Before he knew it, he was figuring out ways to use programs for heists or how to help the Horsemen, and he quickly shut the book. He never checked out another programming book.)

Another reason he loved the library was the computers. It was the easiest way to get internet access that was anonymous, and Danny made sure he made full use of the feature. Looking up news, on himself, mostly, but also on the happenings in Law and other places in the UK, Danny busied himself from day to day.

One time at the library, he logged into his email and saw dozens of emails from the Horsemen, begging him to tell them where he was, and if he was okay. He never went back onto his email after that.

(He didn't understand why though; they didn't need him, and he had given them a free ticket to go back without him! Why didn't they take it? They hated him, he wasn't good enough to be a Horseman, much less part of the Eye, he was a control freak, and got so snappy sometimes that they actually had to leave the room before it came to blows! He didn't understand why they were still looking for him! He would have had a job by now, but the Horsemen were still roaming London looking for him, and it made him afraid to go out in the day. When he mentioned this to Dr. Barton, he just gave him a knowing look and said that if he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't be the one to tell him.)

"You've been good about this wound, Mr. Fromm," Dr. Barton said after his checkup, using Danny's fake name. Dr. Barton leaned back in his chair. "If you keep this up, we'll be able to take the stiches out in two weeks."

"Thanks," Danny muttered, putting his shirt back on. "I almost want to injure myself so you can see more of my pretty face." He added with a smirk.

Dr. Barton laughed, but only said, "Sorry, but I already got a wife."

"Damn, too late," Danny shot back teasing.

"Too late." Dr. Barton repeated, throwing his hands in the air in a 'what can you do?' gesture. "Anyway, speaking of my family, I gotta go home. I'll see you this time next week, okay?"

"Yeah," Danny replied, shrugging his jacket back on.

"Matt." Dr. Barton called. "Don't be afraid to call me if you need help. I've always got my phone on me." Dr. Barton said seriously.

Danny smiled wistfully. It was nice to have someone looking out for him, he decided. He gave a genuine smile to Dr. Barton and walked out of the hospital, taking the now familiar route to his house, before he paused, remembering that he needed more food. He turned around and walked to the grocery. He hummed as he walked along, feeling happy that the stiches would soon be out so he could go and make a new life for himself. A quiet one, perhaps. He was a few blocks from the nearest grocery when-

"Danny?" Danny whirled around and saw a face that he never thought he'd seen again.

"Jack?" Danny muttered under his breath, an elated feeling in his chest. Jack was framed perfectly. His profile was illuminated by a streetlight near him, and damn, Jack looked good. He wore plain jeans, but wore a dark green shirt under his leather jacket. He looked like the stereotypical bad boy, and suddenly, Danny understood why all the girls in the movies always fell for the bad boy. Jack's face was half in shadow, but Danny could clearly see the disbelief etched onto his face. The feelings for Jack that Danny had hoped he had gotten halfway over came back full force, squeezing the air from his lungs, leaving him wanting for something only Jack could provide.

Danny stepped towards him when he understood Jack's disbelieving face and remembered he wasn't supposed to be here. He froze, trying to decide if running would be a good idea when Jack made that decision for him.

"Danny!" Jack yelled, running toward him, engulfing him with a hug. "Where the hell have you been, man? We've all been so worried!" Danny tried to pull away at the word 'worried,' and adopted his indifferent mask. All his feelings of hurt and guilt that Danny had been living with had all come back once he had seen Jack, and Danny wrestled the feelings of love and care for Jack down under lock and key, and braced himself for what he was planning on doing.

 _(God save his soul for hurting his loves)_

"Oh, you know, here and there."

"Danny? What the hell, man? We've been super worried, why the hell didn't you tell us you were okay? Or where you were? Or what you're-"

"Jack, I'm fine." He said shortly. "And as you can see, not in need of you or the Horsemen." He smushed the guilt down at the hurt look on Jack's face that quickly turned to anger. He tried to walk away, not wanting to hurt the Horsemen any more than he had already. He stopped when Jack grabbed his arm and yelled at him.

"What the hell, Danny? You think you can just walk away like nothing ever happened? Just walk away from Merritt, from Lula? From me? After what Henley did to you? To us? You think that we just wouldn't care? You think we've been fine, just touristing around London? You think that we haven't been anxious every day, wondering if you were still alive?" With every word that came spitting out of Jack's mouth, Danny flinched back from Jack.

"Of course." Danny said mockingly. "After all, I knew you couldn't get on without me. I was trying to see if you guys could make it without J. Daniel Atlas. It appears not." Danny spit the words back into his face, a little piece of him dying inside when he saw Jack's face shut down. He was too busy drowning in guilt at Jack's face that he didn't even see the right hook coming for him. It hit his head, causing him to groan and fall to the floor. He had forgotten that Jack could fight. He wondered if Jack was going to leave him here when he was done. He hoped so. It was all he deserved. With his eyes closed, however, he didn't see the kick coming for him.

Which happened to land on his shoulder. His hurt one.

He screamed in pain as his shoulder flared up and lighting lanced down his arm and side. His head was spinning, and could see legit stars in his eyes. He couldn't seem to stop moaning in pain, and could distantly hear Jack panicking. Seemingly hours later, he closed his mouth in a huge effort of willpower. He was still making groaning noises even though his mouth was closed, but at least now he could hear Jack panicking.

"Danny! Danny, please! Tell me what's wrong!" Jack was kneeling next to him, hands open and next to his head in the universal sign of surrender. His eyes were wide open and clearly panicking, and Danny could tell, even in his pain wrecked state, that Jack was about to cry.

"Jack," he panted "calm- fuck- calm down." Danny tried to reassure his panicking friend.

"Calm- calm down? Danny just tell me what's wrong!" Jack pleaded with Danny, eyes glistening with guilt and fear.

"North Emergency Hospital," Danny finally relented, "and ask-" he groaned as a particular movement sent fire down his side, "-ask for Dr. Barton." He managed to get out, hoping that he hadn't left for the night yet.

Danny distantly felt hands hesitantly grab him, unsure of where he was hurt. Jack slowly picked him up bridal style, tucking Danny into his arms. Danny's strength leaving him, his head came to rest on Jack's shoulder, breathing harshly as he tried not to pass out.

"Shit, sorry! Danny, I'm so so so sorry!" Danny looked to Jack's face from where he was tucked into his chest, and noticed that the tears had finally dropped onto his face. It occurred to Danny that somebody should tell Dr. Barton that they were coming, otherwise he might leave, or wouldn't be ready to get Danny in.

"My phone… Left jacket pocket," He panted out. "Dr. Barton. Tell him I'm –fuck- coming." He felt himself shift in Jack's arms as Jack hurried to do as he asked. He stopped talking as he felt Jack start running, and distantly noticed that Jack was shaking, whether from carrying him while running, or from shock and fear, Danny didn't know. He was trying not to pass out.

He heard Jack muttering into his phone, and wondered why everything seemed so bright and so dark at the same time. Darkness was creeping into his vision, yet every streetlight they passed was seemingly getting brighter and brighter.

He must really look like a damsel in distress right now, he thought somewhat drunkenly. A Danny in distress! He was injured in Jack's arms, who was running and crying trying to save him. He giggled.

"Danny? You okay, man? You still with me?"

Danny tried to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a particularly strong jostle sent pain going through his shoulder. A loud moan slipped through opened lips and he distantly heard Jack yelling at him as the darkness took over vision.

Jack felt the moment that Danny fell unconscious. He cursed, rather loudly, and continued his sprint towards the hospital Danny mentioned.

The worst part was that Danny didn't even tell him what was wrong, so Jack couldn't be careful for a specific thing. All he knew was that it had something to do with his left shoulder, and that Jack kicking it started this whole disaster.

Jack cursed again. Loudly. Why was this fucking hospital so far away? It seemed like he had been running for _hours_ , now.

He noticed that he was slowing and tried to redouble his efforts to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. He looked down at Danny's lax face, still grimacing in pain whenever Jack traded carefulness for speed. His pale face seemed almost translucent in the streetlights they passed, and Jack couldn't help but wonder what the hell Danny was doing when he was gone. It served as the motivation he needed, and found a new strength to carry him around the next corner.

Jack almost fell to the ground in relief when the hospital came into view. He didn't, obviously, but he felt like he could. He saw someone rush out, a short man with short blond hair, looking hurried. The figure rushed towards Jack, taking the limp Danny from his arms.

"Mr. Wilder? Mr. Wilder you have to tell me what happened so I can help Mr. Atlas the best I can." The doctor questioned Jack hurriedly, while running inside the hospital and putting him into a gurney.

"I- I don't know!" Jack felt hysterical. "He was being a jackass and something happened to his shoulder- he didn't tell me what- oh God, please help him!"

"His shoulder, you said?" The doctor without looking up, while pulling Danny's coat off.

"Y-yes," Jack said, then gasped as the doctor revealed a large spot of blood on his shirt. "What the hell happened?" Jack demanded, an icy fear grabbing his chest.

"He was shot and you opened his stitches." The doctor told him sharply. "Now, I have to go." The doctor started pushing Danny into a room, yelling at the others in order to hurry them up. "And Mr. Wilder," The doctor added, "I would call the others." The doctor then disappeared from sight, leaving Jack, frantic and scared, standing alone in the middle of the bright white waiting room.

 **Alright guys, only one more chapter, then a short epilogue!**  
 **Sorry about the cliffhanger. Parts Four and Five were originally one chapter, but it was pretty long and it seemed like a good place to end so I made it two.**  
 **Hope you all liked it! *mumbles* I'm talking to no one.**  
 **Hope y'all had a great week, and here's to another one!**

 **KaenNoMai**


	5. Part Five

The Horsemen paced in the waiting room, not caring who saw them. They were openly anxious, awaiting news from Dr. Barton.

As soon as Jack's frantic mind had pieced together what Dr. Barton had told them, he called the other Horsemen, who had sped to the hospital where Jack had told them to go. As soon as the Merritt, Lula, and Dylan had gotten there, Jack fell to the floor sobbing in their arms, gasping out what had happened, his guilt, and his terror at what he had done to Danny. As much as he was an asshole, he loved that asshole.

The four of them had calmed Jack down and Merritt and Lula pulled Jack into their laps. They started petting his hair, whispering words of comfort that they didn't really believe. It seemed like hours before Dr. Barton had walked out of the operating room and delivered the good news.

"As Mr. Wilder has probably told you, Mr. Atlas had suffered from a gunshot wound on New Year's Night. He came to us pleading not to tell anyone where he was." Here he hesitated, looking at the faces of the Horsemen. "He- ah- especially mentioned you four. Tonight, Mr. Atlas's stitches broke open again, and passed out due to pain. The wound wasn't that bad, and he should be fine as long as he takes it easy. He's not awake yet, and because of that, that is all I can tell you about Mr. Atlas right now." With that, the doctor turned and started walking out, leaving them to digest the information.

"Dr. Barton!" Dylan shouted hurriedly after the doctor, catching his attention. "Thank you for all you've done for him."

"Of course, Mr. Rhodes." With a small smile and a tilt of his head in Dylan's direction, the doctor turned and walked away.

After that, the Horsemen were filled with nervous energy, pacing the room waiting for Dr. Barton to come and told them Danny was awake.

A dry sob filled the room and Lula immediately turned to Jack. Throughout the wait, Jack had randomly burst back into tears based on guilt he held knowing he put Danny back in this situation. Lula and Merritt rushed over to where he collapsed on the ground, and together they hauled him back up into a chair where he rested between them.

"Hey, Jack, come on, you know it wasn't your fault. Plus, Danny isn't even hurt really badly, remember? Dr. Barton told us that we are just waiting for Danny to wake up again, then we can all go and see that he's alright." Lula spoke in soothing tones, and Merritt rubbed soothing circles on Jack's back. Lula looked up to Dylan, who had just come in with coffee from the cafeteria. Dylan saw the sight of Jack shaking between them, and gently placed the coffee down and placed both hands on either side of Jack's head.

"Hey," Dylan said softly. "It wasn't your fault. I don't know what Danny was thinking, or doing, or saying, but I can tell you right now that it wasn't your fault. You didn't know that he was injured. I know you think it was your fault because you hit him, but Danny was goading you. You know how he gets. He puts on a mask because he's hurting. And in there? Danny's hurting real bad. We're going to have to be there for him, so we're going to have to be the strong ones this time. When he wakes up, you're going to go over there and apologize, and he'll tell you what we've been telling you all along. It wasn't your fault." During Danny's speech, Jack had stopped shaking and was looking at Dylan with a shaky determination in his eyes.

"There you go Jack," Merritt whispered, still rubbing circles into his back. Dylan got up and started passing along the coffee he had just gotten.

Lula breathed in the smell of the life-giving substance and mouthed a thank you to Dylan. Dylan just smiled and shrugged like it wasn't that big of a deal.

Lula had just gotten her first sip in when Dr. Barton walked back in. She felt the tension drop out of the other's shoulders when he smiled and just said, "Danny's awake."

Lula had never seen the Horsemen drop everything they were doing and run after a person so quickly before.

Danny opened his eyes and saw Dr. Barton watching him.

"Mr. Atlas, I think I recall specifically telling you _not_ to open your stitches." Dr. Barton's voice laced with sarcasm.

"I apologize," Danny rasped out, then gestured for some ice chips, "but it wasn't my fault." Danny sighed in relief as the ice chips cooled his throat and made it easier to breathe and talk.

"Are you ready for visitors?" Dr. Barton asked, "They've been waiting for you."

Danny frowned. "Visitors?" He questioned.

"Misters Wilder, McKinney, and Rhodes, and Ms. May have all been waiting for you to wake. They haven't left, I don't think."

"Why?" Danny asked, mind whirring with questions.

"I think they would like to tell you their selves." Dr. Barton replied with a smile.

"Fine, send them in," Danny surrendered. "But first, do you have me on pain meds?"

"Mr. Atlas, if you weren't on pain meds, I daresay you would still be screaming right now." He answered drily.

Danny smiled goofily. "Thanks."

Dr. Barton rolled his eyes, and left for a minute before showing the Horsemen into his room and shutting the door quietly. The Horsemen all filed into the tiny hospital room that Danny was currently in, all looking pale and drawn. Danny felt a shudder of guilt go down his spine because he did this to them, even if they shouldn't care.

Danny scanned his friends faces for pity, anger, or anything besides concern, really. He carefully looked at each one of them. He was no mentalist, but he thought he knew his loves well enough that he could figure out what they were thinking.

First off, Dylan. He was standing near the back, like he wasn't supposed to be there, almost curling in on himself. He was looking at Danny with a calm expression on his face, and concern visible in his eyes. Danny wondered if he was on the really good drugs or if Dylan was just really good at concealing his anger. Dylan slowly looked around, then leaned closer to Merritt and whispered in his ear before he left. Danny wondered what that was about.

Probably had more important things to do.

Merritt stood next to where Dylan was, and Danny almost cried at the pain of seeing Lula's hand gripping Merritt's. They must really hate him, he thought bitterly, if they were going to show that they were together in front of him. Merritt was looking at Danny in shock, and once again, did not have any anger etched in his face.

Lula, gripping both Merritt's and Jack's hand, was in the middle of the two, and Danny thought he saw her stumble as she walked in. Lula, too, had concern clear on her face. He wondered if she stumbled because Merritt and Jack were dragging her in here, and she just really didn't want to be here.

He finally looked to Jack, and flinched at the desperate look clear in his figure. From the way he was standing to the look on his face, guilt was etched into every feature.

Danny then realized that it was a hallucination. Not even the good drugs could manage to completely wash away the hatred and anger on each of their faces. Oh well. He would enjoy their kindness in his mind before he had to return to reality where they hated him.

"Hey," he managed to rasp out.

"Danny," not-Jack whispered. "I'm so sorry… for everything. I didn't mean to kick you I swea-" Danny cut him off.

"Jack," Danny sighed. "I don't blame you. I never will." At Danny's words, not-Jack sagged in relief and Danny could _see_ the desperate tension bleed out of his frame. Not-Jack lost all the nervous tension that had filled his frame, and almost collapsed onto not-Lula, who was still holding his hand. Not-Lula gently guided not-Jack to the chair next to the bed and set him in it.

There was a pause as they all tried to figure out what to say next.

"Why?" The broken sound from not-Lula had him turning his attention to her. "Why did you leave us? Why did you think you had to go through this alone?"

Danny frowned. Hallucination or not, he didn't like seeing his loves sad. He might as well get all of his guilt off his chest in his dream, so he'd tell the truth. "I got you all in danger. I didn't plan appropriately; I got you all hurt and stuck between a rock and a hard place. I would've thought you all be happy about me disappearing." He said in way of explanation.

Not-Lula and the others didn't seem to understand. "Danny, none of that was you're fault."

Danny sighed. He didn't have the energy to yell at them to try and make them understand, especially if they were in his head. "But can't you see? It was, the whole thing was. Mabry only knew what we were doing because of my stupid ego and obvious weakness. If I hadn't been searching for the Eye… well, maybe you all wouldn't have risked your lives." Danny suddenly looked up, looking at each one in their eyes. "You have to believe me," he pleaded, "I never wanted any of you to die. Everything I've done since we got to Macau was to keep you all alive." Desperate to come clean, to make them understand, Danny was pleading with them, begging them to understand.

Not-Lula's hand was over her mouth, eyes glistening. Not-Merritt looked horrified, and not-Jack looked devastated. Danny looked away, not seeing the grudging acceptance in their eyes that he wanted. He should've known that he would never find forgiveness from them, even if it was in his head. He shook his head slowly.

"I… I'm sorry for everything." Danny then wondered about what he would say next, then decided, _fuck it, it's in my head anyway_. "I… I love you all. All of you. I couldn't just let you d-die." He gasped, throat closing on those words. He saw not-Lula lean down, ready to smack him, but he waved his hands in front, needed to get all of this off his chest. "I love all three of you. Not platonically," he breathed a small laugh, "but in the worst way possible. I'm sorry, I don't mean to break you three up," here he coughed, throat closing up again, "but I need to tell you, even if it's in my mind.

"You have to understand," Danny pleaded, "ever since we got to Macau, Walter was threatening your lives, I couldn't just let him k-kill you guys." With that, his voice wavered and he started hiccupping. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so, sorry I got you all k-killed, I didn't mean to honest!" He was gasping, his hands were shaking again, and yet he had to get them to understand. His breath was coming in short gasps, and his throat was tightening. He looked at them only to see fear in their eyes.

Dr. Barton suddenly barged in, coming closer to Danny, putting a hand on his back and telling him to breathe. Danny tried, but could tell that it was only delaying the inevitable.

"Mr. Atlas, may I tell them your history here? May I let them know what happened?" Danny nodded frantically, hands shaking, breaths coming in short gasps as he tried to drink in his last sight of his loves. Telling them was a good idea. They might be more inclined to forgive him, if they knew what happened.

"Yes," he gasped out.

"Alright, Mr. Atlas, are you ready?" Danny nodded, eyes still drinking in every last drop of his not-Horsemen. He felt a prick on his arm, and his vision darkened as the sedative took effect. Danny opened his mouth to apologize, but faded off before he could.

Lula turned to Dr. Barton with tears in her eyes. "What happened?" she managed to get out.

Dr. Barton sighed. "Mr. Atlas came in New Year's night, just a half an hour after you all disappeared after your final act. He came in with a bag of things, which makes me think that he as planning to run away. He stumbled into the waiting room demanding to know about our patient confidentiality. He wouldn't let us help him until we had promised to not tell anyone. He collapsed on the floor after we promised." He rubbed his chin, and continued.

"Once we got him in, we found a gunshot wound in his left shoulder that required immediate attention. It was – ah – about an hour and a half old at that point, so I did the math. He would have acquired it at the end of his segment. Witnesses did mention hearing a loud bang, but they assumed that it was Mr. Atlas' disappearing act." He paused here to let that sink in. He could tell the others were still trying to digest this. Once he saw that they were ready, he continued.

"That's not all. He was suffering from severe sleep deprivation, dehydration, and he hadn't been eating enough. He admitted to not sleeping since his forced nap on the way to Macau, as he'd been drinking coffee instead. He didn't even remember the last time he drank water." He ran a hand through his hair. "He ate an apple before his act, but doesn't remember when he ate before that." He paused once again, letting it sink in.

"He also had a mild concussion, but it should be gone by now." He sighed, and wondered how he got himself in this mess. "I don't know if you know this, but since you obviously care about him, I'm going to tell you all I've noticed."

He looked around, and saw that the other Horsemen were standing with tears in their eyes, and shock clear on their faces. He could see the gears running in their heads, and trying to prove him wrong, but seeing sadness and disbelief, and guilt flashing across their faces as they realized they couldn't. "You might want to sit down for this." He warned.

He waited till they all sat down together and got comfortable before he began.

"He is very insecure." He stated bluntly. "Every time I would ask why he wouldn't let you all know he was alive, the most I ever got was an 'I'm not a Horseman. I killed them.' He thinks you all hate him, and if I even thought he was right, I wouldn't be telling you this. He has had quite a few panic attacks since he has been here, and they usually end like this." He nodded towards a sleeping Danny on the bed next to them. "If he starts a panic attack, it's quite hard to get him out of one before he passes out. You can usually tell when he's starting to feel overwhelmed when his hands start shaking. It's a big indicator that something is wrong. Pay attention if he starts hiding his hands, because it is some ingrained need to hide his weaknesses." He paused. "I'm no therapist, but even I can tell that he has some pretty bad ingrained habits from what I assume is his childhood."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Finally, he is renting out some apartment. I've never been there, but I would go check it out, if only to get his stuff." He told them the address, then waved them out of his room telling them in no uncertain terms, "if you all don't gets some sleep and some food, I'll put you in a bed much like Mr. Atlas'!" They almost refused, until Dr. Barton came up to them and told them quietly that if anything happened he would call them.

So the Horsemen bundled up and started on their way. They passed through some obscure alleys, following the detailed instructions that Dr. Barton gave them. Along the way, they told Dylan everything they learned, and he told them what the Eye said and how Alma, Dylan's girlfriend, was. Eventually, they all stopped and stared.

Danny had money so why the hell was he staying in this dump? The outside was barren, with two dead bushes welcoming whomever was standing there into the house. The house itself was a dark gray color, though it didn't look like paint. A person could literally see the roof sagging.

They all gathered a collective breath, and walked inside. Lula started crying. They walked in the door and into one large room. At the very end, there was a small room that functioned as a bathroom, with only a toilet, sink, and shower. There was one ratty towel, and no soap or shampoo. On the opposite side of the bathroom was a small counter that obviously functioned as the kitchen. Off to the side of the counter was a mini fridge, and when they looked inside, they found a sad collection of apples and peanut butter.

The living room/bedroom was what killed them all though. The carpet was dirty and smelled awful, and in the corner farthest from the door were two rough blankets, where Danny slept. There was a distinct lack of anything personal in the room, other than a small journal and library books about law. Inside the journal, a photo was poking out, and when they looked at it, they saw it was a picture of the four of them as they were planning the Owen Case heist.

The four of them were huddled around the counter where the blue prints were and they were all laughing after Jack had said something particularly funny. Dylan had been the one to take the picture, and they had all forgotten what Jack had said to set them all off laughing by now. It was a testament to how much Danny valued them, because this was the only photo that the Horsemen had ever seen Danny hold onto.

Dylan, sensing a moment, quietly gave an excuse and slipped out of the apartment. The three Horsemen, feeling worn out emotionally, mentally, and physically, all collapsed onto Danny's blankets and huddled together. They usually felt off balance because Danny wasn't there with them, but it helped and hurt that they could smell him on the blankets, but wasn't actually there. They laid there cuddling for the longest time in silence before they started drifting off, one by one.

When Danny woke up again, he held his eyes closed. He didn't want to wake up. He mentally chastised himself. He didn't even know if the Horsemen would be there.

He opened his eyes to the now familiar room in the hospital, but instead of seeing Dr. Barton there, he saw Lula, Jack, and Merritt. He groaned, and briefly considered going back to sleep.

"Danny!" Merritt. Of course. He would be the one to catch onto the fact that Danny was awake.

After Merritt said his name, the room filled with noises and questions from all three of them, and Danny closed his eyes and wished that they would all shut up. He winced every time the shouted a little too loudly.

After a few seconds, the noises quieted, and Danny opened his eyes again cautiously.

"Danny, how do you feel?' That was Jack's quiet voice, the one he only used when he was scared. Scared of Danny, probably.

"Like I got shot." Danny said shortly.

Silence reigned, and Danny looked at the Horsemen who were looking at him with varying shades of the 'are-you-fucking-kidding-me' face. "Um… I'm sorry?" He offered.

"Real funny, Danny," Jack said shortly, and ended that conversation. Silence descended once more in the hospital room.

Eventually, Danny looked up at each of them, and admitted defensively, "I don't know what you want me to say."

"How about the truth." Jack suddenly said. "The truth about why you weren't taking care of yourself. Why you decided to run away, knowing what it did to you, me, and Merritt, when Henley did the _exact same thing!_ " Jack's voice rose in pitch, and by the end, Jack was yelling at him, his voice hoarse with emotion. "Why you think it's all your fault, why you didn't tell us about getting _shot,_ and why you don't think you're a Horseman anymore!"

"I'm not a Horseman!" Danny snapped back.

" _Why?"_

"I don't deserve it!" Danny screeched. "I endangered the mission, almost gave Mabry the stick, and I _endangered your lives!_ "

"That wasn't your fault!" Lula exclaimed loudly.

"Not my- oh my God!" Danny laughed deprecatingly. "Of course it was my fault! I wasn't paying enough attention, and we all got hypnotized! And then- fuck," he said, realizing his hands were shaking. He curled his hands into fists, fisting the sheets, and tried to stop his weakness from showing. "Then Walter threatened to kill you, and even though I knew you all would rather die than help Mabry, I volunteered! I forced you to do something you didn't want to do because I'm-fuck," Danny said as he moved his shoulder too sharply, trying to cradle his head in his hands. "I'm fucking in love with you all!" Danny closed his eyes as he couldn't watch their eyes turn from pity to anger and disgust.

Danny's hands fisted the sheets, mind racing, emotions bubbling over his walls in his mind that usually kept him from shouting stupid things. They weren't saying anything- why weren't they saying anything? In the few seconds that the Horsemen tried to get over everything Danny told them, Danny's mind ran out hundreds of different scenarios, each worse than the last, which was only causing his emotions to get more out of his control. He found himself opening his mouth against his will.

"You could've _died,_ and I couldn't let that happen! You all were yelling at me, blaming me for keeping you alive, and I couldn't help it! I panicked! You all were _dead_ , and I couldn't help you, _you were dead and it was my fault!_ " Danny was sobbing and yelling by the end, and he flinched when he felt arms encircle him. He opened his eyes, and found all three of them in an awkward hug in the hospital bed.

In his panicked state, however, Danny felt like hands were crawling under his skin and desperately yelled, "Get away from me!"

The Horsemen, hearing this, quickly backed up and held their hands in the sign of surrender, and Danny felt like he couldn't get enough air. If Danny had looked at their faces, he would've seen desperation and confusion on their faces, not the disgust and anger he believe he saw.

Danny then curled up as best he could, raised his arms to protect his head and muttered under his breath. The Horsemen leaned in, trying to hear him, when their hearts broke.

"Please don't hate me, I'm so sorry, please don't hate me, I'm so sorry…" Over and over again.

This was the first time the Horsemen ever saw him vulnerable. Usually, even when he was hurt, he would swagger around, acting like he was the most important person in the world. But this… this was him being so tired, tired of pretending and wishing and being stuck inside his head for so long. He was tired of pretending he didn't care.

Lula, hearing this, very gently hugged Danny again. "I don't hate you Danny, I never could. I love you Danny." With this she placed a very small kiss on his forehead.

Jack and Merritt, seeing no panic from Danny this time, slowly encircled Danny in their arms again, whispering words of comfort.

Eventually, Danny calmed down and they shifted so he was lying on their laps. Danny was exhausted, and was putty in their hands. Merritt, Jack, and Lula all looked at each other over Danny. They had a silent conversation and they all nodded.

They didn't like it, but this was probably the only time Danny would ever answer their questions honestly. Lula and Jack would ask the questions while Merritt would observe his body language for answers that he didn't say out loud.

"Danny, why weren't you taking care of yourself?" Lula asked quietly.

Just as quietly, Danny mumbled, "Couldn' let you get hurt… would've taken time we didn't have."

"Why didn't you tell us you were shot?"

"You would've worried about me, taking concentration away from the show..."

The Horsemen continued asking questions they needed answered, and Danny, half asleep, kept answering them. They felt awful for using him when he was like this, but they needed to know how bad it got, and what the best way for them to help him was. If Danny were even a little more awake right now, he would be deflecting, and answering their questions without really giving anything away. As much as they hated seeing him like this, they were grateful for the opportunity. When Jack, Lula, and Merritt eventually ran out of questions, they allowed Danny to fall into his exhausted slumber, and Lula almost, _almost_ cooed at how adorable her men looked all curled up together.

Lula, Jack, and Merritt, made him as comfortable as they could. It was killing them, now they knew how little Danny actually thought of himself. They sighed and got comfortable for the wait. They would wait for him to wake up. They would wait forever, as long as they got the chance to show him how much they meant to them.

 ***Monotone narrator voice* There we have it, folks, they all lived happily ever after.**

 **No, but seriously, you all are amazing for continuing to read this. Thank you so much! There is only a small epilogue left, and it contains all of the fluff I ruthlessly slaughtered to make this story.**  
 **Enjoy! :)**


	6. Part Six

It was three months after Jack found him in the alleyway, and Danny could say he was very happy with his three months. Once he had woken up again, they all sat him down and admitted that they were all open to a relationship with each other. Danny didn't believe them at first, but day after day of sticking with him and constantly reassuring him did its work. He was now in a relationship with _all three_ of the Horsemen, and Danny was in a perpetual state of disbelief.

His shoulder was recovering well after taking a huge setback when his stiches were opened. Jack was often caught staring at Danny's shoulder in guilt, and would often volunteer first to help Danny wash, help him do his exercises, and help him do everyday things he could no longer do. Danny often rolled his eyes at this behavior, but he dealt with it because he knew it made Jack feel better.

There were still days, however, when he didn't want to be touched, was lost in his mind, or had panic attacks, but those days kept getting fewer and farther between. Danny was thankful they were giving him a learning curve with their relationship, though, as he still wasn't comfortable being affectionate, especially not in public. But in the comfort of their home, they were all pleased to realize that Danny was extremely tactile and possibly touch starved.

In this time, they learned more about Danny then they ever had before. Danny was an extremely private person, and they only learned part of his childhood dreams over the three months, piecing each tiny piece together. Danny seemed to be testing them, throwing them a bit of information that had them grinding their teeth, but not giving them anymore, waiting to see if they would leave him like everyone else inevitably did. It surprised Danny, however, when all these things only seemed to make them love him more.

They all agreed that Danny's idea was a good one: Jack and Lula would be together in public, and Danny and Merritt would be together in public. The public, while becoming more accepting of gay relationships, still wasn't at the point where the Horsemen could come out and say that they were all in a relationship.

Out of the public, though, Jack and Danny were the most often cuddling, and could almost always be found on the couch together watching some movie, talking, or just sitting quietly, enjoying each other's presence. Merritt would often use his mentalism to find out what was wrong when Danny was sulking or being an asshole, but Lula and Jack would always manage to make them all laugh with their pranks.

Danny found that one thing he loved to do was brush Lula's hair. The simple repetitive motion helped calm him down and allowed him to do something with his hands while his head was a mess. He loved seeing Lula's hair untangled and soft to the touch as the fruits of his efforts. Lula was slowly teaching him how to braid and do increasingly complicated things to her hair, but he wasn't very talented. (It was fine though, he had a lot of practice.)

The Eye accepted their relationship, and would often do the little things that helped them feel appreciated. Like suite rooms with one extra-large bed. (Merritt had laughed himself silly when he had first seen it, but Danny was warmed by the thoughtfulness.)

(It helped cement the idea in his head that they were all together the first night they had all slept together after a particularly exhausting heist. Danny was thankful that he was so tired, otherwise he felt that night would not have gone as well as it probably should have.)

Dylan was happy for them, and often used their relationship to his advantage. He would blackmail them, telling them to 'just fucking practice already,' or telling them to do him a favor. He would always get this evil little smile on his face, and the Horsemen got sick of it really quickly. They all came together one night and decided that the next time he tried to pit them on each other due to blackmail, they would hold the fact that Dylan _enjoyed_ (always to be said with an eyebrow wiggle) being handcuffed, and they threatened to tell Alma.

(It quickly came to a truce after that. Who knew?)

They continued doing heists and pulling off magic shows, but every once in a while, they just did a magic show, just for magic. It helped them appreciate why each went into the field in the first place. It reminded them why they loved magic so much, and helped to practice their skills under less stressful conditions. (These shows were Danny's favorites to do, as he started his career as a street magician. Once Merritt figured this out, he became the person who most often called for a street performance. After a while, Danny noticed and felt a warm fuzzy thing in his chest whenever he heard Merritt call for a street show.)

Often, these little shows would be done on the streets, with clear escape routes and extraction plans. Danny insisted on it. The rest of the Horsemen also insisted on a couple of rules: Danny would not work on the plan without at least one other Horseman with him, minimum of five hours sleep before a show, and the moment someone got injured, they were to tell someone immediately.

Danny would complain, but knew that most of the rules were in place because of him anyway, and could see where they were coming from. The not working on the plan without another Horseman present really chafed at him though, but soon realized that they were only too happy to work on it with him, whether it was lunchtime or three o'clock in the morning when he was too wired to sleep.

Danny was always more careful nowadays with heists, knowing how they could go wrong. He spent more time planning, but the Horsemen always knew how to distract him.

Much of Danny's recovery, (both mental and physical) was like taking two steps forward and one step back. Physically, Danny would do his exercises, but would get impatient with his recovery because he wanted to start doing his magic again. He would overuse his shoulder and be back to square one. Lula appointed Jack to always be there when Danny was doing his exercises, which Jack was only too happy to do, much to Danny's annoyance.

Mentally, more often than not, Danny's hands would start shaking whenever they tried anything more than hand-holding and cuddling. Danny would never tell them this, but it was often when he would hear his mother and father in his head, telling him that it was disgusting and he was going to hell for it (Merritt figured it out anyway. Their relationship was a work in progress.)

(One particularly bad time was when all Horsemen were off setting up for shows, and Danny had gotten home before the rest. He walked into their room, and grabbed a pair of Merritt's sweatpants unconsciously. He went to put something in his pocket, but realized that they weren't his, and started freaking out, partly because he had never done that before and had no idea how Merritt would react, and partly because his mind went straight to what his mother would say. The rest of the Horsemen came home in high spirits that were quickly dashed when they saw Danny in the middle of a panic attack in the corner of their room, hands shaking and tears running down his face. They quickly wrapped around him and waited until he calmed down, and figured out what was wrong.

The Horsemen had never wanted to kill or ruin someone as much as they did right then.

Danny had forbid them, but they managed to get their reparation anyway.)

Jack was like the wind. He was always full of energy, and much to Danny's frustration, his hair always looked perfect; as if a wind had just come for the specific reason as to make Jack's hair the perfect amount of windblown. Jack was the best to turn to when Danny was feeling down, and could almost always managed to make him smile. Jack loved using his talents as a sleight to pull off pranks, and Danny and the others would often find themselves rolling their eyes at Jack's childish attitude. Except Lula. Most of the time she would join in.

Merritt, in Danny's (very accurate) opinion, was an asshole. However, he, like Danny, used that as a mask for the world to see. Once you got to be someone he cared about, though, he would drop that mask and be one of the nicest, most intuitive people, who was always looking out for those they cared about. He was that big boyfriend that looked intimidating so others wouldn't hit on his date, but acted like a big teddy bear at home. He loved alcohol, but didn't drink at home because he knew it made Danny uncomfortable. He often made a night of it once a week when he went out with either Jack or Lula, or Danny if he felt like it.

Lula was everything Danny wanted. She was kind, sweet, and often soothed the rough edges of the men. She was the voice of reason when the boys got carried away. She would often act like the bigger man in arguments, disregarding that it was usually her pranks that set them off in the first place. She was mischievous, and knew the best ways to get the blame off herself, even though it was completely her fault. They often didn't even realize what she was doing until hours afterward when they were analyzing the situation in their minds. When they confronted her, she just smiled and made a joke about too much testosterone.

(Danny was at a loss at how he managed to wrangle three of the most amazing people in the world, but he sure as hell wasn't about to pass up the opportunity.)

"Jack!" Danny called. "I wanna cuddle!"

"Coming!" Was Jack's reply, sounding slightly amused. Indeed, as soon as Jack rounded the corner and saw Danny lying on the couch with his hands outstretched, Jack huffed an amused chuckle. "Watch out," he told Danny as he started running. With a running jump, Jack leaped and landed right on the arm of the couch, where he rolled down and ended up splayed above Danny, who leaned back so he was lying on Jack's chest.

(Jack was always secretly happy whenever Danny asked to cuddle. Before, they had to explicitly ask him what he wanted, with Merritt standing there to translate using his mentalism. It was a huge leap of progress, and Jack would be lying if he said he didn't like always being the first one Danny asked.)

Jack smiled at Merritt, who was rolling his eyes at them from the kitchen. Jack's fingers started running themselves through Danny's hair causing Danny to melt against him. Merritt rolled his eyes again. Jack just smiled serenely and said, "If you want to join, Merritt, we can make room."

Merritt snorted and finished making himself a sandwich. "After I finish this. Can't let food go to waste, now can we?"

"Lula," Jack yelled, feeling like Lula wasn't going to like being left out, "Cuddle party!"

"Coming!" Was the faint response. Jack waited for the rest of the party, still running his fingers through Danny's hair. He had started growing it longer again, and Jack couldn't wait until he could tangle his fingers in Danny's curly hair. He had a feeling that Danny would like it as well.

Danny hummed against Jack's chest and shifted so his head was buried in Jack's neck. Jack huffed a laugh, but allowed the movement. In this position, Jack could feel all the tension bleed out of Danny's frame. Jack looked up and saw Lula in the doorway, and invited her to join them with a tilt of his head.

She smiled and sat next to Jack, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Aww ain't this so sweet."

Lula groaned. "Merritt stop killing the mood and get over here."

"Fine," Merritt grumbled, but Danny could tell even without looking that Merritt was smiling. The couch shifted as Merritt sat at the end and tangled his feet with Danny and Jack's.

Danny didn't know how long they sat there, but suddenly Jack groaned and said, "No, Merritt please don't, you have that smile again. I don't care what my body language says, I really don't want you to do this!" It was all for naught, though, as Merritt climbed on top of Danny, crushing Jack, who was beneath them both. Danny growled when Jack's fingers stopped moving for a second. Jack got the hint, and kept running through Danny's hair.

"Ah, this was a good idea, thanks for inviting me, Jack." Merritt said. Danny could feel Merritt's breath against his neck and shivered.

"Help…" Jack fake-wheezed.

Lula just laughed at their antics and grabbed Danny's hand. "It's all your fault, Jack, your body language showed you wanted him to do it." Jack stared at Lula in shock and disbelief written across his face.

"Lula, you're supposed to be on my side!" He yelped. They continued to bicker, while Danny just hummed (definitely not a purr, no matter what Merritt says), and closed his eyes as he enjoyed the feeling of his loves all around him.

He was home.

 **That's it guys! One hell of a ride.**  
 **Thanks for all of you who stuck with me! I very much enjoyed the opportunity to share this story with you.**  
 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Kaen**


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